The government has approved amendments to the law on the administration of buildings confiscated as illegal constructions, a package that affects both institutional control over these assets and the fate of citizens who bought apartments in them. According to the official version, the aim is use in the public interest, social housing and mitigating social consequences, but the draft law also brings a strong reconfiguration of powers in favor of AAPSK.
AAPSK replaces the commission and takes the center of decision-making
The draft law sent to parliament removes from the scheme the nine-member commission and the implementation unit provided for in the current law, transferring the main functions to the Agency for the Administration of Seized and Confiscated Assets.
A working group is to be set up within this agency, appointed by order of its head, which will administer the buildings and the special fund, propose the sale of assets, conduct auctions and monitor assets given for use.
In essence, the government is concentrating in a single agency the chain of administration, assessment and development of these buildings, while many implementation details are left to by-laws expected to be approved later.
Not every confiscated building goes to public use
Unlike the general idea that every confiscated construction automatically passes into use by the state or third parties, the proposed changes open the way for some of them to be legalized.
This affects cases where the building has violated the construction permit, structural works have been completed, and the units are possessed or used by third parties with notarized contracts with the investor or developer. In these situations, the building may be legalized and registered under the legislation on transitional property processes.
Under this scheme, AAPSK will request that ASHK continue legalization procedures for these categories of buildings.
Major changes for apartment buyers
One of the most sensitive points of the draft law concerns how citizens who bought apartments in confiscated buildings are treated. The current law recognizes proportionally the amount paid and provides for financial compensation according to the value corresponding to the work carried out.
Under the new changes, in certain cases not only a financial obligation will be recognized, but the transfer of ownership of the unit itself to the buyer may be approved.
According to the draft, the authorities must recognize and respect contracts signed before a notary and registered in the Cadastre before the finding of illegality. After the building is completed and registered, AAPSK will approve the transfer of ownership for the unit belonging to the buyer under the previous contract with the developer.
Experts outside procurement and the fund transferred to the agency
The draft law provides that AAPSK’s external experts will be selected from the list administered by the Ministry of Justice, while this selection is exempt from public procurement procedures. This is one of the elements that raises questions about transparency and competition filters in the process.
Also, all files, materials, documentation and the confiscation fund accumulated from implementation of the existing law will be transferred to AAPSK within 30 days of the new law entering into force.
The draft also provides a pre-emption right for possessing entities that self-declare illegally built structures to the competent authority within six months of the law entering into force.
The draft law bears the signature of Prime Minister Edi Rama and was proposed by the minister of interior and the minister of economy and innovation. The floor now passes to parliament, where not only the new administration formula is expected to be tested, but also the balance between the public interest, the rights of buyers and the room the state is giving itself in managing these assets.
In an issue where property, legalization, confiscation and public funds are intertwined, the way these changes are implemented may carry greater weight than the promises written in the draft itself.